Revenio
by La Feu Eterne
Summary: Revenio: to return After Gibbs finally did something so horrible that even Tony could not forgive it, Tony went away to recover and be appreciated for himself. Now he's returned to DC, but he's definitely not alone.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Notes: A few things to keep in mind, some differing from canon before the events of the story:  
- Tony is much younger  
- he graduated early, with a degree in Phys Ed, then a PhD in Forensic Psychology  
- he didn't work at multiple police departments before NCIS, only Baltimore  
- Gibbs' amnesia and Mexico happened, along with the epic douchebaggery of Tim, Ziva and Abby  
- Abby apologized and worked very hard to be less selfish and regain her friendship with Tony; they are now even closer  
- Jenny was not a revenge-driven bitch who forced Tony into the situation with Jeanne

* * *

CHAPTER ONE

* * *

The whispers rippling through the building said that he was coming back to them, returning in triumph. Anthony DiNozzo was coming home.

* * *

Even the atmosphere in the airport was different, as alive as the one he had left in Naples, but more reserved, quieter, while being far less laid-back. Tony smiled. It was good to be home, mad American rush and all. He kissed Luca's baby-soft cheek and smiled at his sister-in-law as they waited for their luggage.

He amused himself by trying to pick out the owners of individual pieces of luggage as they came down the carousel. It was harder with the seasoned travellers; they all seemed to own cases in sober colours that could take a lot of damage without showing, marked with little ribbons tied around the handles to signal their presence to their owners.

Some of the young – and not so young – new fliers were easier. One particular case was ridiculously obvious, a bright, lurid pink that could cause instant migraines, it could only belong to the bottle-blonde girl in an incredibly tacky pink animal-print dress.

As the girl attempted to pull the case off the baggage carousel without her breasts popping out of her dress, he glanced at Mary again and they quickly looked away from each other before they burst out laughing. It was very handy that he and his sister-in-law had a similar sense of humour. Of course, their spouses disagreed, but really, what did they know?

On his other side, Mary's husband, Andrew, poked him in the ribs. "Hand over the baby, Tony. You've been hogging him since we were over the Atlantic."

Tony quirked an eyebrow. "Really, can you blame him for wanting his Daddy? He's _my_ boy – clearly he's got excellent taste."

Andrew snorted loudly, earning them a few disgusted stares from fellow travellers. "You mean you wrestled him away from Mary once it was time to feed him, and refused to let him escape to his beloved, most wonderful uncle in all the worl – "

With the hand he had been stroking his son's back with, Tony flicked Andrew's earlobe. "Silence, peasant. Your jealousy is noted and dismissed."

Andrew flicked at Tony's earlobe in turn. Then he pulled Tony's nose.

Mary coughed. "If you children are quite finished playing, our bags have just been loaded. Andrew, go get them."

Even as he picked up the first bag as it came near them, Andrew whined, "Why don't you make Tony do it?"

Mary and Tony _both_ quirked an eyebrow at him in identical fashion. "Yes, because juggling a baby and a 23 kilo bag is the sensible thing to do."

Ignoring his wife's comment, Andrew kept staring at them in horror. "You two _really_ spend too much time together. You're even starting to look alike."

Eyeing each other up, one a blond, green-eyed man over six feet tall and the other a brunette, blue-eyed woman of just above five and a half feet, they smirked. Tony put his free arm around Mary. "We can't hide it any longer, Mary. Your man's on to us – Andrew, you're right, we're actually identical twins separated at birth. . . Mary used to be Mark before the operation."

Andrew spluttered and nearly dropped the second bag. "You know, for a second, I –

Mary cut in. "Sweetheart, I really don't advise finishing that sentence if you want to have sex any time this decade."

Andrew shut up, while Tony stuck his tongue out at him. Mary sighed and petted little Luca's hair as he slept on. "Darling, you need to raise your father properly. Once you wake up, I recommend putting him in time-out in the corner, and putting your uncle in the opposite corner."

Looking at her husband and brother-in-law, who were now squabbling over who got to take Luca's teddy out of the baby bag slung over Tony's shoulder, Mary smiled. At least life was never boring around her beloved posse of idiots. Now if only the last one was here too.

"Enough, boys. Our ride is probably waiting. And why the hell do you need the teddy? Luca's not going to wake for a while."

Pouting like scolded children, Tony let go of the teddy, while Andrew pushed it back into the baby bag, which he then dumped on a trolley. "It was just in case," he muttered.

Pushing the trolleys, Tony taking the lightest as he was still carrying Luca, they moved to the Arrivals greeting area.

Looking around, they saw a Goth girl jumping up and down next to a distinguished-looking older man seconds before they heard the squealing. "Tonytonytonytony! Over here! Where's my neffy poo?!"

Easily shoving their trolleys through the wide berth the other arrivals and their families were giving them, Tony led his small family forwards.

"Abby, Ducky, meet Lucas Steven DiNozzo, the most adorable baby in the history of human existence. Oh, and these two weirdos latched on to me on the plane. Quick, let's make a getaway!"

Abby punched Tony very lightly on his free arm. "Introduce us to the in-laws, Tony, or is Mr. Director too high and mighty to do such things for us mere mortals now?"

"Ow, you abusive woman. Fine, this is my lovely sister-in-law, Mary Cunningham, formerly McGarrett, and her pet zombie, Andrew, to whom she is tragically joined in matrimony."

Andrew shook his head sadly. "Poor fellow, he suffers from delusions of wit, but we try to keep him comfortable so that he doesn't hurt himself."

Chuckling, Ducky reached out a hand to Andrew while Abby hugged Mary. "It is a pleasure to meet you both in the flesh, my dear boy." Abby and Ducky swapped arrivals. "And you, my lovely lady. And last, but certainly not least, the newest member of our family."

"And the cutest!" squealed Abby, bouncing in place. "Can I touch him? Can I stroke his hair? Can I pet his cheeks? Can I, Tony, can I?"

Tony laughed. "Once he's awake, I'll introduce you. Fair warning, though, even though he's usually a quiet baby, he doesn't really come across strangers very often, so it may take him a while to warm up to you."

Mary interjected, "And whatever you do, don't try to snatch him out of Daddy's arms. _Someone_ barely puts him down to sleep. Even when_someone_ took on desk duty after his paternity leave, he took the baby to work and let Luca sleep in his office. Talk about abuse of authority. So for some odd reason, Luca _really_ doesn't like being parted from his Daddy."

"Speaking of authority, Anthony, I must congratulate you on this latest promotion! You're going to be a wonderful Director – the whole of the DC office is eagerly awaiting your arrival. Abby and I had to pull rank – the rank of years of close friendship – to be the ones on your welcoming committee."

As they rolled the luggage trolleys towards where Abby and Ducky were parked, Abby taking over for Tony, Ducky continued speaking. "Hmm, you mentioned taking Luca to the office. Will you be doing the same here? And how did Luca avoid strangers while in your office? Surely you had meetings and –"

Laughing, Tony put a stop to the flow of questions. "One at a time, Ducky. SecNac said that it should be fine while Luca was this young, then I should move him to the NCIS crèche. As for how strangers were avoided, the office in Naples was housed in this lovely old refurbished palazzo. There was more than enough space for a private office for an Assistant Director and a little sitting room immediately outside it. I would leave the door open to hear Luca if necessary and hold meetings in the sitting room. In Italy . . . it's different, there's a much greater understanding and lenience when it comes to family, especially a newborn who can't really be left unsupervised with a sitter. It would be different if Steve were here as well, but we can't have everything, I suppose."

They had reached the cars. Ducky put his hand gently on top of Tony's. "And how is Steven, my dear boy? I did not want to ask before you brought him up."

Tony shrugged, trying to dredge up a smile. "We spoke about three weeks ago. He said it would be unlikely that it would be safe for him to contact me again before he finished this mission. I guess it's because this is his last deployment before retiring, but this op is taking longer than usual. I have no idea when he'll be returning Stateside."

Ducky squeezed Tony's arms. "He will come as soon as he is able, Anthony. From what you've told me and what I've learned of Steven when we spoke on Skype, he is an incredibly strong man, not just physically, but mentally, where it is most important. He is the sort of man who will stop at nothing to return to you and his son. And he will take far greater care of his health than on previous missions. After all, he's never had so much worth living for."

Tony managed a weak grin. "I know, Ducky. It's what I keep telling myself every day. Oh, and Ducky, I was going to ask – since we're going to be much closer now geographically, would you mind being Luca's honorary grandfather? Neither Steve or I are on speaking terms with our fathers and, well, I've sort of thought of you in that role whenever anyone brought up parents."

Ducky had to blink several times to clear away the dampness in his eyes. Then, mindful of the sleeping baby in Tony's arms, he embraced the younger man carefully. "My dear boy, you've made me so very, very pleased. I am deeply honoured that you consider me a father – I've long considered you a son, though I really shouldn't have favourites – and I would be delighted to be this little one's grandfather."

He blinked again repeatedly, giving Tony one last squeeze as the others reached them. As Andrew, Mary and Abby started loading the bags, Ducky had to go into his car to blow his nose lightly. Mary turned from her task and nudged Tony.

"So you asked him then."

From Tony's bright grin, it was fairly evident what the answer had been.

* * *

As they drove along out of the airport, Ducky kept up a continuous stream of anecdotes, until he abruptly went silent.

"Ducky? Is everything alright? I _was_ listening!"

"Thank you, my dear boy. That wasn't the issue. It's, Anthony, are you sure you want to stay at the Morrison House? In Alexandria, of all places, after what he did to you?"

Tony was quiet for a few moments, feeling thankful that the other three were all in Abby's car. "I have to, Ducky. If I can't face him now, how am I to act as Director? If I come across him while we're out, at least I'll be with people I love and trust, who know what happened."

Ducky sighed heavily. "I still wish you had pressed charges, Anthony. Any form of sexual activity that one partner did not consent to is still rape."

He heard a quiet, choked-off sob from the back. "He used a condom and took it with him, Ducky. It would have been my word against his. Who would believe frat idiot, playboy Tony Dinozzo over the almighty Jethro Gibbs?"

Angered and saddened in equal measure, Ducky pulled over as soon as he saw a parking area. He got out and moved to the back seat, where Tony was shaking, trying not to cry into his son's hair. He pulled the younger man into his arms.

"Oh, my dearest lad, I would. Secnav and Jenny both clearly trusted you too. Even if it could not be proven definitively, there would have been enough other evidence to convict him. After you left, I saw the bruises and scratches you must have left on him."

At this, Tony let another small sob escape. Ducky felt immeasurably guilty.

"Anthony, shh, shh, my boy. I'm so sorry for bringing this up right now. This should have been such a happy day for you, returning home in triumph with your son. I'm so sorry, child, please ignore an old man's worry."

Tony lifted his head from Ducky's embrace, green eyes swimming with unshed tears. "No, you were right, Ducky. It was a valid concern. It's just that I need to face my demons. I would never take my family into _his_ neighbourhood if I thought there was any risk to them. Even while he was raping me, it seemed so strange and impersonal, as if he did not even know who I was. At the time, I could not think clearly – I just ran to you and called Jenny to accept the position in Rota. But now, after a case we prosecuted in Spain, I don't think he was in his right mind."

Correctly interpreting the expression on Ducky's face, Tony hastened to reassure him. "No, no, I'm not justifying what he did. Hell, I still have nightmares about it! It's just that I've more or less accepted it. I just need to prove to myself that I won't go to pieces in front of him."

"Well, I can't say that I approve, but I will stand by your decision. However, if you want to prosecute at any time, I still have the medical reports and photographs from that night, as well as a photograph on my phone of the marks on Gibbs."

They were both quiet for a bit, then Luca made a snuffling noise and pushed his face into his father's neck. Both men laughed.

"Honestly, you must be the luckiest parent on the planet. How that baby slept through part of the flight and everything that happened after you disembarked is beyond me!"

Tony grinned. "He gets it from his Dad. Even though, technically, he's got mine and Mary's DNA in him, he's all Steve. Steve's been trained to hair-trigger reflexes, but once its settled in his mind that he's safe at home, he can sleep through World War Three. This one is just the same."

"You're a lucky man, Anthony DiNozzo!"

"I am indeed, Ducky."

"By the way, Anthony, from a medical perspective, not prurient curiosity, was it IVF that allowed Lucas to be conceived, or some other method?"

Tony stared at Ducky, then blushed, unable to meet his eyes any longer. "Er, nothing quite so technical, Ducky. You know Mary's an ER clinician, so she's got a very, er, practical approach to many things. We, ahem, Steve and I, _you know_, then Steve filled a turkey baster with, erm, my contribution, then gave it to Andrew. Andrew took care of the rest. I don't really know – or want to know – the details of what happened next."

Tony was bright red now, what parts of his face and neck Ducky could see, at least. His face was buried in Luca's hair as he tried to hide his blush, but Ducky could see the red tinge at the vee of his sweater. Idly, he wondered how far down it went, then decided that Steve probably enjoyed it greatly, before being shocked at the path his brain had taken. And about his dear Anthony, too! Why, sometimes Ducky could not understand the workings of his own mind.

To save them both further embarrassment, Ducky decided that it would be best to continue on their way to Morrison House, now that he understood, but didn't necessarily agree with, why his boy and his new family weren't staying at his place for the next few weeks.

Once they reached the hotel parking, they found that the others had gone in to check into the suite they had booked. Placing a hand on Luca's head to protect him from banging on the door as he got out of the car, Tony scanned the area with an old police officer's instinctive reaction. He felt as though he were being watched, but put it down to the porter who was staring at his ass. Reassured by the lack of anything suspicious, he followed Ducky into the lobby as the porter followed with the bags.

Their party was clearly visible, Abby's Gothic uniqueness sticking out like a sore thumb amidst the Early American furnishings and atmosphere. Stifling a laugh, Tony made his way towards her, watching her perk up as her eyes zeroed in on Luca.

As soon as he, or rather Luca, was within arm's reach, she was reaching out to stroke the baby's hair. "Hello, most adorable nephew in the universe!"

"And what am I, chopped liver?" laughed Tony.

"Shh, you're interfering with my bonding time!"

"Oh, so I'll just stand here not doing anything but holding Luca, shall I?"

"Nice to see you understand your place, Tony. Seriously, as soon as he wakes up, he's taking off with his awesome Aunty Abs. You'll see."

The manager came up to them and offered Andrew a keycard. "Sir, the suite is ready and the changing table and Diaper-Genie have been sent up with your bags. You'll find everything you need to prepare formula milk in the sitting room, in front of the fireplace."

"Excellent. Right, onward, troops. Follow the head of the fami – ow!"

His wife walked on, ignoring Andrew rubbing the ear she had just flicked.

* * *

As they entered their suite, Tony went straight to the bedrooms to see which one had a changing table in it while Mary examined the micro-kitchenette setup the hotel had prepared. Ducky and Abby joined her, interested.

"Whoah," said Abby, impressed. "I didn't know hotels came with these."

Mary glanced at her absently from where she was filling a kettle to boil. She switched it on and leaned against the counter. "Yeah, if you specify it when you're booking the room, and you do it far enough in advance, they'll do it."

Abby looked at the setup again. The whole thing was mobile and attached to a couple of sockets and pipes in the wall, together with a water dispenser with a full bottle sitting in it. There was a short counter, with a working sink, a range with two hot-plates, a mid-sized fridge and a microwave. The drawers she was peering into were full of cutlery, crockery and . . . a European brand of infant formula.

Her expression must have been quite something, because she heard a quiet masculine chuckle. Turning to the source, she found the manager standing unobtrusively to the side; he had escorted them up and must have waited to see if they had any questions, except that they had pretty much made themselves at home instantly.

"I really shouldn't say this," he coughed, "but there's very little that's impossible when you have a Centurion card to pay the bills."

Abby's eye widened. She waited until the manger had smiled and excused himself before yelling, "Those are invitation-only to the richest of the rich folks. Whoah, Tony, you married up in the world."

She was met with a burst of laughter, even from the bedroom where Tony was changing Luca. Mary was laughing so hard she had to keep an arm on the counter for support. She straightened and grinned at Abby. "You've got it the wrong way around, Abby. While Steve and I aren't exactly paupers, as emergency medicine and black ops both pay quite well, we're the ones who married up in the world – both Andrew and Tony come from old money."

Abby goggled at her, then spun to face Ducky. "Did you know our Tony was loaded?"

Ducky was still chuckling. "Not as such, no. But there were certain mannerisms when he forgot to play the empty-headed frat boy that could only come from a certain upbringing."

Abby considered this. Then she skipped over to the bedroom and hugged Tony from behind. "I'm so glad your douchenozzle dad finally saw the light. Did he go down on his knees and beg forgiveness? Was it very, very satisfying? Did you punch his face in? Can I punch his face in for you?"

She stopped when she saw Tony's reflection, the look of puzzlement turning into slight hurt. He laughed weakly, "Well, as far as I know, he's still hoping I die painfully in a ditch somewhere, and I'm still disinherited. No, the inheritance is from my mother's family. Her parents made sure that my father couldn't touch her money, and after she died, Uncle Clive took care of her investments for me. In any case, the DiNozzos are slightly rich _now_; the Paddingtons have been wealthy for generations, so I suppose I got the better end of the deal."

Abby felt incredibly guilty for bringing up bad memories. "Well, now you can teach me and Luca which fork to use in fancy restaurants. Besides, you don't need him, we love you more than that bleep could ever appreciate you."

Tony laughed out, surprised. "Abby, did you just _say_ 'bleep`?"

"What?! I forgot earlier, but I don't want to swear in front of the baby!"

Still laughing, Tony turned back to his son, then yelled out to the rest, "Hey, everyone! Sleeping Beauty's waking up!"

There was an instant stampede into the room, Mary still holding the full kettle that she had been going to pour out.

Baby Luca stirred on the changing table again, slowly blinking his eyes open. The first thing he saw was his beloved Daddy, his favourite person. He smiled, dimpling adorably.

Abby squealed.

At the strange noise, Luca looked around. There were two strangers standing near him, and he could see his aunt and uncle a bit behind them. The new lady reached out a hand towards his face . . . Luca promptly burst into tears.

He was instantly in his Daddy's arms, being cuddled and petted.

"Hey, hey, _caro_, Daddy's here, Daddy's got you. And you know these people. We spoke to them on the computer, don't you remember? It's Aunt Abby and Grandpa Ducky. Come on, open those pretty eyes and say hello to them properly."

Luca's sobs quietened fast and he was soon calm enough to sit up in his Daddy's arms. He peered shyly at the new people, ducking his face into his Daddy's neck when he caught them looking at him. "Da," he whispered. He heard the strange lady make that noise again.

"Yes, _caro_?"

"Dadadadaaadaa."

"Mmhmm, yes, I quite agree, my darling."

"Oh, TonyTonyTony, you didn't say he started talking! He's only seven months old! My nephew's a genius baby!"

"It's really just the one word. I'm not sure if he means it as a short form of Daddy or if we just got so excited about him making that sound that we positively reinforced him into saying it repeatedly. Watch, _caro_, who am I? Who's this?"

"Da!"

"Who's that? Is that Aunty Mary?"

"Da!"

"What's my darling's name?"

"Da!"

Tony laughed along with everyone else, which seemed to excite Luca so much he started clapping and laughing.

"Look, _caro_, what's wrong with Aunty Mary? She's carrying a kettle full of boiling water that could have spilled on her, oh no!"

"Dadada?"

"Yes, my darling, it _is_ very dangerous."

Mary blushed lightly when everyone turned to look at her. "What? I was going to pour it out when Tony said Luca was waking up."

Abby looked puzzled. "But didn't you just boil it?"

Mary nodded. "However, I don't know when this was last used or how well it was cleaned. By boiling it and throwing away the water first, I'm getting rid of any bacteria or dust. Ideally, I'd autoclave it, but this is just cheap plastic, so it would melt."

Abby looked impressed. "You had an autoclave at home? That is so cool! Was it just for the baby's things or did you have a lab as well?

Mary looked embarrassed. "Well, I was moaning about missing my research once I'd started practicing as a doctor – I used to work on bacteriocidal drugs – so one day, I came home to find that Andrew had a working Biosafety Level 2 lab installed in the basement. Once the baby came, we bought a small autoclave for his things, to avoid any risk of contamination."

Abby was nearly drooling at the sound of this. "Will you have one here? Can I live with you? I'll cook and clean and do your laundry!"

Mary grinned. "While I appreciate the offer, you're welcome to come over once things are settled, no strings attached."

Abby squealed again, Luca staring at her.

Tony spoke up. "Alright, people, let's move this to the sitting room, so we can feed Luca and discuss what we're going to do, along with how much slave labour Abby is going to owe us."

As they moved out of the room, Abby poked Tony in the arm. "Mary already said that there were no strings attached – you can't make me do anything!"

Tony sent an evil grin her way. "Well, considering that I'm going to be living there too, I get a say in it. Mwahahaha!"

Luca giggled. His Daddy was making silly noises again.

* * *

Once they were all comfortable ensconced on sofas and Tony was waiting for Luca's bottle of milk to cool down, Abby brought up the topic again.

"So did you guys live together in Italy as well? That would have been so cool."

Neither Tony or Andrew said anything, merely glancing at each other, before looking at the ground.

Mary snorted. "What these idiots are pussyfooting around, Abby, is that we did all live together for several years, both in Naples and in Rota, but Andrew and I moved out just before Luca's birth. I was worried that I would get too attached to Luca and refuse to give him up if I saw him all the time, so I basically didn't see him at all for the first three months of his life. Even afterwards, I kept sending over expressed milk until he was six months old; I figured that feeding him myself would just make it harder to give him up. It's really only this past month that I was able to hang out with Luca."

Tony gazed at his sister-in-law. "Mary was a trooper. She went through so much to give Luca to us, then she denied herself even the slightest affection for him, just for me and Steve. I don't care what you say, Mary, he'll know even when he's older who exactly is the reason he's alive."

Andrew sniffled. "Okay, that's enough mush, you guys. Living arrangements!"

Mary rolled her eyes. "Control your ovaries, Andrew. Fine, fine, living arrangements, just stop with the puppy eyes! So we were thinking we'd live together again – it's really too weird to live in separate houses after all these years."

Abby leaned forward. "How long, exactly? Did you guys meet up just after Tony came to Rota? I don't know much about that first year as that was before Tony forgave me and the Duck-man wouldn't tell me anything."

"It wasn't my place, Abigail."

"Well, you guys can knock yourselves out now," said Tony, waving a hand expansively. Luca thought this was hilarious, and started waving his hands too.

Andrew snorted. "Let me tell this part. So there I was, an innocent young lawyer assigned to a victim of a brutal torture attempt by a psycho Marine, when suddenly, this new Team Leader gets assigned to the case. I was very offended – some idiot was coming in who might bungle the case – I was going to let this fellow know how to do this case properly.

I go to the NCIS building and who should I find wandering about but this pretty little agent who didn't look a day older than twenty-five. I saw a few older agents leering at him and decided that this must be a new probie. I very kindly introduced myself and offered to show him around, thus rescuing from the horrible fate awaiting him at the hands of pervy agents.

The kid was delighted. He said that he and his new team had just solved an important case and he was trying to familiarise himself with the office while going over the facts again and again in his head. Apparently, this hard-ass lawyer for the prosecution was coming over to grill his team and make sure their new team lead was up to par – he wanted to be sure that he wouldn't mess up in front of the guy. I sympathised and told the poor little innocent that not all lawyers were that mean and as proof of that, invited him to dinner with myself and my wife that evening, so we could show him around the city a bit.

We were getting on like a house on fire when he said he would introduce me to his team and walked into a very familiar office. I was puzzled. Was he helping out the team I had been working with? Surely they wouldn't assign a probie to such a high profile case.

Jaws dropped as we walked in. You could hear the whirr of a printer two offices away in the silence that followed. Turned out the kid wasn't actually a probie."

By now, everyone was in stitches, laughing madly.

Andrew smirked. "Although, I was quite flattered afterwards when I realised I was the hard-ass in question. I am so tough and scary. I rule."

Tony threw a cushion at him. Lucas copied him, though his cushion fell down almost immediately. Everyone started laughing again.

"Do continue your story, dear boy, this is most exciting!"

"Alright, Ducky. So where was I? Oh, yeah, so after a couple of laughs at our expense, I realised that Tony wasn't as incompetent as I feared he might be and he figured out that I wasn't so bad either. I still dragged him home to meet the family, since we'd been in Spain for two years by then, and we genuinely could show him around the city.

Both Mary and Steve were at home, so I had another witness to the beginning."

Duck and Abby looked puzzled, while the other were grinning.

Andrew lowered his voice, going for dramatic effect. "The beginning of the Epic Gay Love Story of Steven and Anthony. Da da da dum."

Mary was practically rolling around laughing at this point, while Tony was only still because he was feeding Luca and didn't want to jar the baby.

Still in the ridiculously serious voice, Andrew continued. "Over the gazpacho, Steven made ridiculous moony eyes while drooling into his soup, while young Anthony blushed and kept peeking at Steven through his lashes. By the paella, Steven was a raging inferno of lust, while Anthony innocently enjoyed his creamy rice. By the crème brulee, Steven could bear it no longer. As the nubile Anthony moaned in pleasure at the taste of his dessert, Steven threw off the last vestiges of civilization and gave in to the base desires running through him.

He leaped over the table in a single bound, raising Anthony gently off his chair and embracing him. Gently, he lowered his lips to Anthony's. Whether out of surprise or maidenly shyness, Anthony did not respond, standing there like a frozen lump. Slowly, Steven increased the intensity of his kiss, until at last fair Anthony succumbed to his seduction and returned the passion of his embrace. Thus did the romance of Steven and Anthony begin."

He stood up and took a bow, nodding politely at the applause and laughter that greeted him, together with a cushion aimed at his face from Tony.

"How come I'm the girl?" whined Tony.

Very drily, Mary explained to him. "Tony, by the end of the night, you were essentially sitting on Steve's lap sharing kisses. He was basically_courting_ you for the next several months. My brother calls you his 'pretty baby' when he thinks we can't hear him. I know way more about your sex life than I ever wanted to, because the two of you don't understand the meaning of the word discretion, so I know who does what in your bedroom. Tony, I love you like my own brother, but you're definitely the girl."

Tony groaned, throwing his hand over his eyes.

"Yeah, really proving your masculinity there, little brother. Besides, you're not alone, Andrew's totally the girl in our relationship."

Andrew, who had been grinning and nodding along to Mary's words, turned to her. "Hey!"

"You know you are, love. Don't make me cite examples."

Pouting, Andrew subsided. Abby and Ducky were laughing so hard they were in stitches by then.

Abby wiped her eyes. "You guys, I don't think I've had so much fun since Tony left four years ago. This is awesome! What happened next?"

"Well, professionally, Tony rose through the ranks like a meteor. Personally, Tony sat the three of us down several weeks after he and my brother started dating and explained what he had gone through with bloody Gibbs and why he might never feel comfortable being intimate with Steve. He said that if Steve wanted to break things off, there would be no hard feelings."

Abby raised her hand. "Sorry to interrupt, but why would he tell all of you? Isn't that basically between him and Steve?"

"He had already spoken to me about it and was planning to tell Steve anyway. The only one who would have been out of the loop was Andrew and the four of us pretty much tell each other everything."

"Aaah, this makes sense," nodded Abby.

"Steve was very offended by that and started to profess his love for Tony as a person, not Tony as a sex doll – his words, not mine – and they fell into each other's arms, becoming nauseatingly lovey-dovey. Tony moved in with us soon after –"

"To sleep!" interjected Tony. "Steve and I literally only slept in the same bed. No funny business!"

Andrew snorted. "No, that came several months later, didn't it? Mary and I went off to Venice for our anniversary and by the time we returned you and Steve had done the dirty deed. The pair of you certainly made up for lost time after that."

Mary took up the story again. "Around a year after his promotion to Rota, Tony was promoted to Assistant Director of NCIS in Europe and Africa, which meant moving to Naples, in Italy. So the four of us talked it over, decided that Andrew and I could easily find jobs anywhere, while Steve had to ship out on missions half the time anyway, and we moved to Italy.

A couple of years after that, I offered an egg and my uterus, and Luca was conceived. After we knew I was pregnant, Steve decided to retire from the SEALs and accepted his last mission. They had to push up their wedding date because the mission was assigned sooner than expected, but my two idiots did end up married, even if it _was_ the day before Steve shipped out.

Then Luca was born, Tony was offered the Director position and you guys know the rest."

They were all silent for a bit. Then Abby sniffled slightly. "Aww, I feel so bad for Steve. He had to leave just after his wedding night and never even saw his baby!"

Tony looked sad as he thought of his husband. "Yeah, we were able to send him some ultrasound scans but with his situation later on, it wasn't safe to even email him, so we couldn't send any photos of Luca after he was born. This last op has taken over a year. I guess because it's his last one before retiring, the Navy wants to get all the work possible out of him before then."

Abby moved to Tony's side and gave him a partial hug, careful because of the baby. Luca was still drinking his milk, cuddled up to his Daddy's chest and he gazed at her out of the same big green eyes that Tony had.

Ducky watched them sadly, before clapping his hands together. "Right! We still need to discuss housing. Have you three already spoken to an estate agent? I'm afraid Mother's not the safest person to have around a baby, with her Alzheimer's, otherwise I would just drag you all off to my home."

Mary started. "We've spoken to an agent, but didn't want to make any decisions before actually seeing the places in person. We do have a few finalised options, though, and it shouldn't take too long to pick one. Our things are being shipped over and should be here in about a week and a half. In the meanwhile, we'll stay here. It's convenient for all three of us – Tony can go to NCIS with Luca, I can reach Bethesda fairly quickly and Andrew can go to his new firm in about twenty minutes. I must say, I'm looking forward to getting the dirt on Tony from Dr. Pitt."

Abby bit her lip, then ploughed on. "Are you sure this hotel's the safest? Don't get me wrong, you guys seem to be getting great service! It's just that, well, Gibbs lives in Alexandria too and I think one of his jogging routes passes here."

Tony sighed. "Ducky asked me the same thing in the car. I can't say that this is the safest, no, but I'm going to have to work with the man, so I want to get any panic attacks out of the way before I have to deal with him on a daily basis. I've got a week before I have to go in to work; I want to get into the headspace I need for the job. If I meet him here on Alexandria, at least it'll be on my terms.

I genuinely don't believe he's a risk to anyone else, otherwise I'd never have brought Luca into the same country as him. Don't ask me why, it's just this gut feeling. And yes, I do see the irony, considering Gibbs is the one famous for following his gut. Now. Tell me about what's been happening at the DC office. I've been staying in touch with most people, but you don't really include the little, day-to-day things in emails, you know?"

"Well, my dear boy, most of the office is eagerly awaiting your arrival. I only know of three people who aren't: Gibbs, David and McGee."

"Whoah, Ducky, you called everyone by their surname alone. From you, that's practically spitting on them."

"Indeed, Anthony, I felt that this was the most polite way to mention them in the presence of a baby. Now, where was I? Oh, yes. Gibbs doesn't show a preference one way or the other, while McGee and David are arrogantly doubting your competence and making homophobic and derogatory comments about how you got the position. Thankfully, most of the office has turned on them quite viciously – you have some good friends waiting for you to return my dear boy."

"And wait till they get a load of my neffy poo," crowed Abby, bouncing. "He'll have the entire secretary pool wrapped around – ow!"

Unnoticed by everyone except Tony, Luca had finished his bottle and clambered up his Daddy to rest his cheek on his Daddy's shoulder, while having his back patted to burp him. He had been watching the movement of Abby's pigtails and suddenly grabbed one.

Abby was delighted with this progression of events and proceeded to shake her pigtails madly, in the hopes that Luca would want to play with them and maybe even get to know his Aunt Abby.

Unfortunately, all the attention seemed to be too much for the baby, who gave Abby a shy grin before hiding his face in his Daddy's shoulder, then throwing up on the small towel Tony had slung there for that purpose. As Tony left to clean up, Abby stared after him with a besotted expression.

Mary chuckled. "Don't worry, he'll come around. Luca's just a little shy around strangers. To be fair, Tony's essentially his whole world, so two new people at once is a bit overwhelming for him."

On Tony's return, the group continued to chat and later, unpack, long into the night. After several hours of observing the strangers, Luca even consented to play with a pile of soft toys on his play-mat, with his Uncle Andrew and Aunty Abby, who both made wonderful sound effects for each of the animals.

* * *

Nearby in Alexandria, Leroy Jethro Gibbs was drinking himself into a stupor. He hadn't even bothered with the pretence of working on the boat in his basement, just sat on his couch with two six-packs of beer and a bottle of scotch.

Earlier that day, knowing that Abby and Ducky would be picking Tony up from the airport, he had tailed Abby, not wanting any of Ducky's old SAS training to kick in and catch him. After that, he had followed them to the Morrison House Hotel, feeling both disturbed and elated that Tony was practically in his back yard.

He had watched as Abby climbed out of her car, followed by a good-looking couple. Gibbs wondered who they were, as neither looked anything like Tony, so they couldn't be his relatives. Also, they were clearly together, so one of them wasn't his partner.

Perhaps they were family of Tony's husband? After the compulsory sensitivity training last week, everyone knew that their new director was married to another man and even had a kid who would be coming into the office. Oh, it was never said during the seminar, but the reason behind the seminar had spread through NCIS like wildfire, that playboy Tony DiNozzo had finally settled down – with a man. As for the kid coming, there was some crap about how they couldn't let the Italians be more open-minded and provide better working conditions than they could.

When Ducky had finally arrived with Tony, Gibbs had been unable to breathe for several seconds. Tony . . . Tony had looked more beautiful than ever, even through a pair of binoculars. A part of Gibbs was incredibly grateful, that he hadn't been able to break the man he was still in love with through his monstrous actions four years ago. Another part hated Tony for it, for being so happy without him, when Gibbs had tortured himself every second of Tony's absence, despite knowing it was his own fault.

And the baby . . . Gibbs hadn't been able to see too many details, but the kid didn't seem to look too much like Tony, _his_ Tony. For one, the baby's hair was as dark as night, unlike Tony's blonde.

But the looks didn't matter. For the moments he spent staring at the kid, all Gibbs felt was rage. That should be _his_ kid Tony was carrying and cuddling so adoringly, not some other man's baby. Even though a woman clearly had to have been involved at some point, Gibbs could not get rid of the thought of some faceless man, holding Tony and their kid, kissing him, making love to him. Well, at least Gibbs had been there first, even though still it made him sick to remember that night and the terror on Tony's face.

After he had raped Tony, while he was staring down at the bleeding, unconscious man, it was as if Gibbs had suddenly regained his senses and realised the monstrous crime he had committed. He had raced to the bathroom to puke, before undoing the handcuffs holding Tony and cleaning him up, then tucking him gently into bed, before running from Tony's apartment. He had thrown himself into his work after that, hoping against hope to redeem himself by putting enough criminals behind bars, by taking stupid risks with his own life.

And finally, here they were, Gibbs drinking himself to an early death, alone at home, while Tony had moved beyond his rape and all the belittlement that had preceded it to become a happily married man, giving his unknown husband the most beautiful man in the world and his kid to love. Speaking of him – Gibbs suddenly sat up.

Where was this paragon? It had only been Tony, Ducky and the kid that got out of the second car and no-one else had arrived with them at the airport. Slowly easing back into his sofa, a drunken smile crossed Gibbs' face. Maybe Tony was having problems with his husband. Maybe the stupid asshole didn't appreciate the gift he had been given. Maybe Tony had forgiven his old boss, and would need some comforting after his husband had left . . .


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

Tony was exhausted, in the best possible way. It had been wonderful to speak to Abby and Ducky in person again – Skyping was never quite the same. After putting Luca to sleep with the 'Steve video' and making sure that the baby monitor was switched on – Mary and Andrew had the other – Tony decided to take a nice, relaxing bath, knowing that once he was down, Luca would sleep for hours on end.

As he ran hot water into the tub, adding a few drops of lavender oil to the bubble bath mix, Tony realised that he hadn't had some _personal_ time in quite a while. What with caring for his son and missing his husband, on top of doing his job, Tony rarely had the leisure to do anything beyond catch a few zzzzs in the rare free time he had. Now, however, he had the privacy and the time to indulge.

Moving to his dressing table he took out the small black box that had had Mary roaring with laughter when they were unpacking and she had opened it, puzzled. He had fled to the bedroom with the box, blushing furiously, before any of the others had seen the contents. While Mary had spared him embarrassment then, he felt sure that she had told Andrew once they were along and that the pair of them would be poking fun at him for it all day tomorrow.

Picking up the waterproof lube and his favourite dildo, the one that most resembled Steve's cock, he took them to the bathroom. Then he suddenly dropped them into the tub and ran back to the bedroom, paranoid that Luca had woken up alone in a strange place and thought his Daddy had abandoned him.

After watching his son breathe peacefully for several minutes, then checking and double-checking that the baby monitor was on, Tony decided that it _might_ be safe for him to take a relaxing half hour for himself.

Returning to the bathroom, he shut the door and stripped. Moving to the steaming tub, Tony moaned pleasurably as he sat down in it, feeling his muscles unknot. Thankful that he had apparently dropped the lube and dildo straight on to the seat and wouldn't have to grope around to find them, Tony started to prepare himself.

It had been quite a while, so stretching himself took longer than he expected. Even after closing his eyes, Tony couldn't pretend that it was Steve preparing him, simply because Steve's fingers and hands were bigger. Of course, smirked Tony to himself, Steve was just bigger in general.

Finally feeling ready for the dildo, Tony circled it around his entrance, realising that the submersion in a hot bath had heated the dildo up enough to make it feel almost like a real cock. Moaning out Steve's name as he plunged the dildo inside, Tony rifled through the many, many memories of Steve, before settling on his favourite wank fantasy – the night Luca had been conceived.

. . .

* * *

_To read the deliciously kinky sex scene, please visit my account of AO3, where this story is published under the same title, under the username Lady_L. Enjoy!_

* * *

_. . . _

Tony shuddered, moaning out his orgasm as he bit down on a towel, while his hole clenched uncontrollably hard around the dildo. Slowly, he released the towel and took in huge, gasping breaths, coming down from his high while feeling blissfully fucked out.

Feeling as limp as a wet noodle, Tony eased the dildo out of himself before cleaning up with a hit shower. Wrapping himself up in a fluffy bathrobe, he washed and dried the dildo and bottle of lubricant before putting them back in the box.

As he moved to his son's crib, checking to see if any of the noise he made had woken Luca, Tony felt incredibly lonely. Perhaps it was the downside of the hormones running through him after his orgasm, but he wanted Steve's warm strength to lean back into, wanted the pleasurable ache in his ass to be from Steve's cock, not lifeless plastic. He wanted Steve to carry him to bed and hold him while they slept.

As the tears began to run soundlessly down his face, Tony wished desperately that his husband, his love, would just come home.

Carefully picking Luca up, Tony took him to the large bed and lay down with him, putting pillow barriers all around Luca to prevent him falling off the bed, not wanting either his baby son or himself to be alone tonight.


	3. Chapter 3

When morning rolled around and there was no sign of an obnoxiously cheerful Tony breaking into their bedroom to jump on their bed and sit Luca on Andrew's stomach, Andrew decided to find his brother.

As he sneaked into the other bedroom, he rolled his eyes as he saw that Tony had taken Luca out of his crib to cuddle him. Again.

However, as he drew closer to the bed with every intention of waking Tony with an Epic Tickle Attack, he saw something that froze him in his tracks. There were tears leaking out from under Tony's eyelids, even though it was obvious that he was dead asleep. Upset, but not knowing how to help Tony, Andrew went to the source of all knowledge.

He poked his wife awake. "Mary, Mary, wake up. Wake up now. Tony's crying in his sleep again."

Mary sighed. "Are you wearing clothes?"

"I am now."

"Am I wearing clothes?"

"No. Hang on." He helped her shove her sleep-clumsy limbs through the necessary openings as he dressed her in a clean t-shirt of his that looked like a nightdress on her body.

"Now what?"

Mary rolled out of bed, grabbing her pillow. "Tony needs affection right now. So we give it to him. Take your pillow."

Bearing pillows, the couple went to the other bedroom. Mary settled in next to the baby, sleepily stroking Luca's hair, before reaching out to do the same to Tony. Andrew arranged his pillow to his satisfaction before putting an arm around Tony and tugging the slightly smaller man into the warmth of his body, nuzzling into his neck.

For a moment, Tony tensed, and Mary worried that he would either wake or start crying in earnest, but then he relaxed before turning and cuddling into Andrew.

It broke her heart, seeing him like this. It was only in the past month that she and Andrew had been around to help out, what with the issues with giving Luca up. The only thing she regretted about that decision was how it had left Tony all alone for six months, dealing with the stress and loneliness of being a single parent, while worrying whether or not the husband he missed so much would ever return to him alive.

As Andrew stroked Tony's hair, she saw the same regret in her husband's eyes. Tony was like a little brother to them both – annoying as hell half the time, but you couldn't help adoring him despite it.

They really needed Steve to come home soon.

* * *

Once everyone had woken up and Luca had been changed, fed and changed again, the whole family sat down to watch _Lion King_ and the _Sound of Music_. Slowly but surely, Tony had infected them all with his feel-good method of choice. Mary and Andrew ensconced Tony between them, while the baby got passed around between all three of them. Luca seemed to love the songs, raising his voice into a nonsensical stream of syllables whenever the onscreen characters started singing.

As they relaxed, Mary thought about what her brother was missing and pondered the dynamics of her strange little family unit. Her boys were all completely insane. Her brother – the biological one – was clearly insane to have become a SEAL to start with. With Luca, it was too early to tell. Then there were her husband and her _other_ brother, who were now having a cuddle-fest because Mufasa had just died.

Hmm. Most women would probably find it weird to see her husband cuddling her _de facto_ brother on his lap. It was a good thing she wasn't most women. She knew it was completely platonic; Andrew was very tactile in general and Tony had been deprived of affectionate touch for so much of his life that he melted and felt incredibly safe when a larger, stronger man that he trusted was holding him.

Besides, she smirked to herself, any man who could have a guy as pretty as Tony wriggling around in his lap and _not_ get a hard-on was clearly a devoted partner or husband, or exceptionally straight. Knowing that Andrew had fooled around in college, that left only the first option, so she felt _very_ smug and secure in her relationship with her husband.

Suddenly hearing a burst of song from next to her, Mary was brought out of her self-satisfied musings. A quick glance at the tv told her why: Tony and Andrew were singing, or rather, butchering _Hakuna Matata_. Unfortunately, her nephew seemed to disagree with her opinion and raised his voice in gleeful babble to add to the racket his Daddy and Uncle were making.

_What the hell_, thought Mary, and joined in on the next round of the chorus.

* * *

After the movies had finished, Tony was dead to the world, exhaustion catching up with him after the previous few hours' enjoyment. Mary and Andrew entertained Luca in shifts, while his Daddy took a well-earned nap.

Leaving Tony on the sofa after covering him up, Mary took care of checking out potential new neighbourhoods online while Andrew called their account managers and organised American insurance, phone plans for all three of them – they couldn't keep using Abby's spare phone – and spoke to the firm that had installed Mary's lab in Naples to get a recommendation for a similar service in DC.

Since they had eaten breakfast in front of the tv, neither bothered waking Tony up for lunch, deciding he needed the sleep more. After all, they were going to one of Tony's favourite Japanese restaurants later, so he was sure to stuff himself there.

Later in the afternoon, Abby and Ducky came over again, to have a leisurely chat before heading out to the restaurant. Afraid that their whispering might wake Tony, they all moved to Mary and Andrew's room, but not before Abby carefully drew silly figures on Tony's face in Mary's eyeliner. Giggling, she took a picture, which Andrew then printed out and sellotaped to the inside of the door to the suite.

* * *

Tony stirred lightly. He could feel a heavy weight on his chest and absently wondered if Steve had decided to use him as a pillow, rather than the reverse, which was more usual for them. Then, he felt small hands patting at his cheeks before poking his face.

He opened his eyes to see Luca peering at him, their noses touching, while Luca's eyes seemed hilariously magnified so close up. Father and baby stared at each other for a long minute, before Luca chortled and bit Tony on the chin. It didn't exactly hurt, since Luca only had a grand total of three teeth, but it certainly shocked Tony enough to startle him into full awakening.

Sitting up holding Luca, he really wasn't surprised to see his family giggling around him as Mary held up her phone, clearly recording the whole thing. Making a face at them, which only set them off again, he yawned. "What time is it, losers?"

"Time to grab a shower if we don't want to miss our reservation. Hand over the sprog." Andrew quickly scooped Luca up, whirling the baby around with aeroplane noises, much to his nephew's glee.

As Tony stumbled towards his shower, the others went oddly silent, waiting, waiting, waiting . . .

Tony screamed.

They cracked up again.

"What did you do to me?! Does this crap wash off?! Who did this – I'm going to slip laxatives in all your food, just wait and see!" Any other threats were cut off as Andrew shut the door to that bedroom, yelling in "It's not waterproof – I think!"

* * *

Unsurprisingly, there were no laxatives in their meals. Tony being Tony, he would certainly find a less obvious but equally amusing way of exacting his revenge. As the evening progressed, though, the others got a bit worried. After all, the longer he had to plan, the worse whatever he was going to do would be.

* * *

It wasn't until two days later that they found out. After another 'family dinner' with Abby and Ducky, this time at an Italian restaurant, they had come back to the suite and ordered strawberries and cream. Tony had very kindly offered to serve and made everyone wait to eat until they all had a small bowl.

As most sweet lovers do, the others all started by taking a spoonful of cream, before choking and running to the bathrooms to spit. Meanwhile, Tony cracked up and enjoyed his strawberries.

After the others returned from rinsing out their mouths, they admitted that it had been a good prank. The only issue was –

"Tony, what the hell was that stuff? It was disgusting!"

Tony grinned at his sister. "You guys didn't realise I only ordered strawberries from room service. What you all so enthusiastically ate was a huge dollop of my shaving cream."

Collective disgust ensued. Tony laughed again, before pulling out a second bowl of strawberries that had been brought up, together with a fresh bowl of cream.

"Don't worry, guys, this one's safe – I ordered while you lot were cleaning your mouths."

When no one moved to touch the food, Tony rolled his eyes. "Oh, alright, I'll go first." He served himself a new bowl of strawberries, before powdering them with sugar and adding a healthy scoop of cream. He took a heaping spoonful, watching his family hold their breaths, then brought it to his mouth.

"Mm-hmm. If you guys don't want it, I have no problems finishing this off myself, you know."

At those words, there was a collective rush for bowls and spoons, which Luca, sitting on his playmat with his various teddies, found hilarious.

* * *

As enjoyable and relaxing as it was, the domestic idyll couldn't last forever. Five days after arriving in DC, the whole family, together with Ducky and Abby, decided to spend the morning walking around Old Town Alexandria, before heading down to the Waterfront. It wasn't the most picturesque of locations, but after living in Naples for three years, they were missing being near the water.

After a tiring but very pleasant morning, they were simply strolling along, when Ducky suddenly stopped, tense. When the others turned to see why he had paused, they saw his staring to the left at a man observing them.

Ducky's expression, Abby's glare and Tony's slight gasp before flinching towards Andrew made it fairly clear who the stranger was. Gibbs slowly came forward, stopping abruptly when Tony moved forwards a few steps, holding his son.

Holding his head high, he stared at Gibbs until the man lowered his eyes before turning and rushing away. Once Gibbs was out of sight, however, the rush of adrenaline that had allowed Tony to act started wearing off and he started trembling.

Ducky quickly called a taxi and hustled them all into it, instructing the driver to go to the Morrison House as quickly as possible. By the time they reached it, Tony was noticeably shaking, while holding Luca in a death grip. The tension in his father's arms, together with the sensitivity of children to the emotions of the adults around them, was upsetting Luca in turn, making the baby clingy and irritable.

They quickly moved Tony to their suite, before trying to get him seated on the bed with Luca, to wrap a quilt around the shaking man. Unfortunately, as soon as Andrew tried to hold Tony, he flinched violently, starting to hyperventilate. Poor Luca was now frightened and started to cry. At the sound of his son's tears, however, Tony seemed to come back to himself.

Swallowing, he rocked his son gently, while staring at his family. Abby was nearly in tears, while Ducky and Mary seemed to veer between angry and heartbroken. But Andrew – Andrew looked like a beloved puppy had suddenly turned on him violently. Thinking back, Tony realised what had his brother looking so hurt and reached out instinctively.

"I _do_ trust you, Andy! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry –"

At the first apology, Andrew gave a wordless cry and swept Tony, baby and all, into his arms. "Don't ever apologize for something that wasn't your fault, Tony. Anyone would have reacted the same way."

With the reassuring safety of Andrew's arms around him, Tony finally broke down, sobbing. The reaction from seeing his rapist for the first time in four years hit him at last and he broke down completely. Mary gently took Luca from him, as the baby was only getting even more upset and bawling louder in response to his Daddy's distress. She took Luca into the other bedroom, while Abby clung to Ducky, tears slowly rolling down her cheeks at the sight of Tony in so much pain.

* * *

Afterwards, when Tony had cried himself out and Luca had calmed down, they met up in the sitting room. The sombre mood was in stark contrast to the cheery anticipation that had filled the room at the start of the day.

Tony finally broke the silence. "Well, now that's out of the way, at least we know I won't go to pieces in front of him!"

Ridiculously weak as the joke was, it nevertheless dispersed the tension in the room.

Ducky cleared his throat. "My boy, I am incredibly proud of how you handled him. You didn't let him intimidate you at all, but stood strong in front of him. Not many people would have the resolve to face their rapists so bravely."

Mary smiled softly at her brother. "Good for you, Tony. Now all that's left is to kick his ass once you're his superior." At the snorts from the others, she looked around with a faux-innocent expression. "What? Surely that's what power and authority are _for_?"

Abby threw an arm around the woman she was quickly coming to think of as a new best friend. "That's _exactly_ what they're for. And remember, Tony, I can always get rid of any evidence!"

The snorts that met her statement just made her grin harder. Their Tony was cheerful again, not letting the bastard keep him down – mission accomplished.

The man in question grinned broadly. "You know, I'm starting my new job in two days and most of my suits are probably somewhere over the Atlantic by now. Who wants to come shopping with me?"

The statement met with groans all around, except for a cheer from Abby, who raised her hand while hopping in place. "Pick me, Tony, pick me!"

Andrew heaved an enormous sigh. "Yes, Tony, pick her and leave the rest of us in peace."

The evil smirk Tony threw his way did not reassure him. "Oh, no, Andy, my man, a hotshot lawyer can't go in to his new firm dressed in the same five suits – they'll never respect you!"

Andrew snorted. "Just because I can wait for the rest of our things to arrive – in _four_ days, Tony, four – doesn't mean I'm in danger of lacking clothes. We all brought clothes for the first week of work, remember?"

"Please." Tony waved a hand dismissively. "Having a bespoke suit made is not a question of necessity – it is a matter of life and death. Style-wise."

Irritated beyond all reasoning, Andrew threw the nearest soft object at Tony's head, their favourite mode of communication. As Tony sniggered, Luca let out a wail of displeasure.

Oh, dear. It looked like the projectile he had chosen was Luca's favourite teddy, almost half his size, selected early on by Steve, wearing a t-shirt that stated – what else, really – "I'm with Baby SEAL". Tony called the teddy 'Commander Theodorus Bearus the third', or Commy for short. Oops.

Before things could degenerate further, Mary took charge, giving Commy back to Luca. "Enough, idiots. Here's what we're going to do: Tony will go to his tailor with Abby, Luca and Andrew; Ducky and I will visit the few houses I shortlisted. If we think any of them are worth a try, we'll call you over. Then, we will return to the hotel, eat downstairs at The Grille, and come upstairs so that Luca can watch the 'Steve movie' and go to sleep. Then we'll just hang out doing the same stuff we normally do."

Ducky raised his voice slightly, to be heard above the sound of Luca chortling in delight as Andrew tickled him. "My dear, one question, if you will: what precisely is the 'Steve video' that you three keep referring to?"

Tony stared at him, frowning lightly. "Didn't we tell you? I thought we already told you. Hmm"

Mary had a similar expression on her face. "Huh. I was sure we'd already told you."

Abby rolled her eyes. "Well, no, you haven't, so tell us now! I want to go shopping with Luca!"

Tony grinned at her enthusiasm. "It's exactly what the name says, Abby, a video of Steve. Before he left, he decided that he didn't want the baby to not have any memories of him, just in case something happened. The video, it's really just Steve telling Luca – well, he wasn't Luca then, just a bunch of cells – how much he loved him and was looking forward to meeting him. He told the baby stories from his own childhood and how he saw the five of us in the future. Then, just in case of the worst possible outcome, he actually gave the baby advice on how to handle just about every life challenge he could possible face, from college to marriage to working. I've been showing Luca the video every night since he was born, so that when Steve comes home to us, Luca'll know exactly what his dad looks and sounds like. Now he doesn't fall asleep without it."

Abby sniffled. "Aww, Tony, that's so beautiful."

"Indeed, dear boy, it is incredibly touching. Who would have thought that intimidating Navy SEAL exterior concealed the heart of a poet and romantic?"

Tony grinned at him. "Well, me, for one."

At that, they all burst out laughing, before getting ready to leave.

Just before they split up into different cars, Andrew reminded his wife, "I want an awesome pool, you know that, right? The house we pick needs to either have a pool or have space for one. You did remember that when finalising our choices, yes?"

Mary rolled her eyes as she got into the white Escalade they had bought for her. "No, love, I somehow managed to forget it after the hundreds of times you pointed it out to me. Now go!"

Grumbling, Andrew went to the driver's seat of _his_ Escalade, this one in black, while Tony's was steel-grey. The others had already seated themselves, Tony sitting in the back next to Luca's car seat.

"Alright, Tony, you better give me the right directions to this tailor of yours or I'm throwing you out of the car and changing the surname on Luca's documents."

* * *

After the tailor had greeted Tony like a long-lost son, before fawning over Luca, who was, to be fair, utterly adorable, Andrew began to realise just how much the people he had left behind in the states – down to his tailor! – had missed his brother.

"Told you guys." Andrew jumped about a foot into the air. Luca, who had been sitting on his Uncle's lap and chattering indecipherably to Commy while his Daddy was measured and tried things on, enjoyed this very much and started clapping.

With her loud, exuberant personality, Abby was the last person he had expected to speak up on him so quietly.

"What do you mean, Abby?"

"I mean that I told you guys several times on Skype how much everyone here was missing Tony. Did you know that one of the old ladies in his building had been depending on him to get her groceries for years? She couldn't walk without pain and her daughter was a bitch who was taking everything of her pension, so Tony would pretend he got great discounts and buy all her groceries himself, taking only a dollar or two from the amount she gave him, and that was just to avoid making her suspicious. He actually set up grocery delivery from a different place before he left, despite being in shock from the rape.

One of the cleaners at NCIS, this old man who's probably been there longer than the building, actually came up to Ducky a few months after Tony left and asked him to pass on his grandchildren's birthday wishes to Tony. Apparently, on his birthday, for several years now, instead of going wild, Tony's quietly been helping out people who couldn't otherwise have managed. The cleaner's son died in Afghanistan and his wife in childbirth, so he's been raising his three grandkids on his own. Tony would buy the kids school supplies and give them supermarket vouchers for hundreds of dollars on his birthday.

That year, the voucher was delayed, so the old man had no idea that Tony was still planning on doing it – but he genuinely wanted to wish him well. So yeah, there are a lot of people who're going to be ecstatic that Tony's come home. If Gibbs tries anything, he'll probably be massacred."

Andrew smiled coldly. "Oh, yes. He will."

"Weeeeell, how do I look?"

Abby and Andrew stared at Tony, who was wearing some sort of fabric mock-up. Luca also stared at his Daddy, Commy hanging from the ear that was clamped in Luca's mouth. Andrew and Abby shared a glance.

"Like an absolute moron."

Tony pouted.

* * *

After receiving a call from Mary, they drove to the house that Mary claimed was 'absolutely perfect'. Andrew kept calling her to double-check the dimensions and quality of the pool, until Mary got pissed off and threatened to drown him in it when he arrived.

When they reached the neighbourhood the house was located in, Abby and Tony looked around, observing through the eyes of experienced agents. It was clearly well-to-do, but unlike most such neighbourhoods, which were fairly conservative, this one seemed more welcoming. They saw a pair of women who were clearly together, one walking a dog while the other pushed a stroller, the pair stopping often to kiss. They were walking with two other couples, both heterosexual, each having at least one stroller or a toddler with them.

Abby turned around in the front seat, beaming. "Tonytonytony, if you move here, Luca will have friends his own age! You and Steve can totally join those parents! Ooooh, you know what you should do when Steve gets home? You should get a dog. I love dogs. Then I can come and live with Luca and the dog and Mary's lab and –"

Tony finally interrupted her, laughing. "Abby! What with taking care of Luca and work, I barely have time to eat and sleep – most days, I skip one of the two! How the hell would I take care of a dog too?"

Abby peered at him, narrowing her eyes. "Hmm, so that's why you've lost so much weight."

Andrew's voice was strangely quiet and serious as he joined the conversation. "Yeah, that's what happens when you're dealing with a job, being a single parent to a newborn and missing your husband, all with no one to help out."

Tony glanced at the back of Andrew's head, surprised. "Andrew?"

Andrew shook his head, silently telling him to ignore it. "Never mind. Call Mary and ask whether I turn right here or at the next turn."

As they got closer to the house, the homes started being placed further and further apart, most with tall privacy walls surrounding large, well-manicured gardens. Abby was staring around, impressed. NCIS paid her _very_ well for her expertise, but she still couldn't afford anything in this area.

Soon, they reached a large wrought-iron gate, set in a twelve-foot-high stone wall and clearly opening into a short avenue. A woman who was most likely the estate agent was waiting for them. As she waved them through the gates, they looked around, Andrew trying to see if he could spot the pool. Once he parked in front of the large house, built mainly in stone, with a European feel to it, he took off to ask the agent.

Tony unbuckled Luca from his car seat, chuckling at his son. "Is your uncle going to get scolded? Yes, yes, he is, isn't he, _caro_?"

Luca babbled at his Daddy, excited to be out of his car seat.

Abby was staring around at the property. "Oh, Tony, this is gorgeous, like something that was taken out of a British movie. I love how they did the avenue, with shorter species of trees as you get closer to the house. It makes the whole place look so airy and open. Oooh, look – rosebushes! You can dye the flowers and give me black roses!"

"No, I won't," grinned Tony, bouncing Luca slightly in his arms.

"Aww, Tony, don't you want to make your only Abby happy?" whined Abby.

"I want to make Steve happy first!"

Abby tilted her head to the side. "Well, obviously, but what does that have to do with it?"

They started walking towards the house while Tony spoke. "Steve has strong opinions on plants, for some reason. He hates cut flowers – thinks they're dead, butchered plants. To him, giving someone plucked flowers is like giving them human body parts. If you do get roses from us – _if_ we decide to live here – it's going to be as a potted cutting."

"That's so adorable!" yelled Abby, giving Mary an impromptu hug as she came out of the house with Ducky. "Your brother is so sweet!"

Mary snorted, hugging Abby back. "Neurotic is the word I use, but sweet works too. I dare you to call him that to his face once he comes home, though."

Abby gave a faux-shudder. "But what if he breaks me into tiny little pieces?"

"Use Tony as a human shield – Steve'll be so distracted with kissing him, he'll forget what irritated him in the first place. That's what Andrew and I do."

"Did someone say my name? Ah, hello, wife, you were pining away without me, weren't you? Go on, admit it."

"Actually, I was thinking of trading you in for a newer model. It took you so long to walk back up the drive – clearly, you're past your prime."

Andrew clutched a hand to his chest in mock heartbreak, before grabbing Luca. "See how your aunt wounds me, the vicious little hag."

"What was that, Andrew?"

"Nothing, light of my life and glory of my existence."

"Yes, that's what I thought you said."

Looking seriously down at the baby in his arms, he advised Luca, "Never fall in love with a woman who's smarter and more terrifying than you."

Luca stared up at his uncle, blinking widely. Then he grinned and grabbed Andrew's nose, pulling hard.

"Ow! Yes, you're definitely a McGarrett."

* * *

After they had explored the house, identified the spots that would need re-wiring or fixing up, tested the plumbing in every bathroom and generally nagged the agent into reducing the price slightly, they had a group discussion, huddled around one on the window seats in the master bedroom.

Ducky started. "It seems to be in excellent condition and large enough for two families to live in without wanting to commit homicide. The garden's large but maintained well enough that Luca won't go missing in it once he starts running around. My only concern is the pool. Perhaps you should install railings or –"

"Or build a low stone wall around it, so I can take a running leap and jump straight into – ow!"

Mary had raised her eyebrows at Tony, who obligingly poked the man standing next to him in the ribs. Hard.

Rubbing his side, Andrew pouted. "We need to tell the furniture suppliers we spoke to if we want to move in soon. The bedroom and dining room sets should be ready, and the studies are the easiest, just large desks for the four of us. The house already comes with some pretty decent bookshelves."

"So are we decided then?" asked Tony. "This is our new house?"

The others smiled. "This is our new house, Tony. And the room we're standing in is going to be for you and my brother."

Tony looked pleased, then slightly concerned. "Don't you two want the master bedroom, though?"

Both Mary and Andrew shook their heads. "The room on the other side of the house is almost as big, has a similar bathroom and most importantly, is as far away from you and Steve and your loud sex as we can get."

Andrew laughed at the blush his wife's words caused on Tony. "And anyway, I think you guys will need a slightly bigger bedroom for a while. Don't think we haven't noticed how Luca never slept in the nursery in Italy. Or how he magically moves from his crib to your bed most nights!"

Mary seemed to be talking to the chandelier. "Hmm, I do wonder how Steve's going to take having to share his bed and husband with a baby once he comes home."

Tony stuck his tongue out at her. "We'll take turns and share Luca."

Mary snorted. "You completely missed my point, by about a _country_, not just a mile, but okay. Chances are he's going to be just as obsessive and overprotective as you anyway."

Tony rolled his eyes. "I know what you meant. However, I think it's very likely that Steve's going to have as little interest in sex as I do right now once he starts feeling the exhaustion that comes with being a parent."

The others all shared small grins and expressive eyebrow waggles but didn't correct his statement. Finally, Mary spoke up. "Well, we need to get moving if we want things ready before we all go to work. Andrew, go call the furniture and upholstery people; Tony, ask a good electrician to look at the kitchen. Ducky, I'd appreciate it if you could come shopping for linens and other supplies with me. Now, let's go and sign for this place."


End file.
